Baptism and Bullets

This week has started off with a "BANG"!

Saturday morning the kids and I walked for our local Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Center to help raise money for this loving caring ministry with the Karate 4 Christ ministry.

We had a great time walking the two miles with smiling faces even though it was windy and freezing out. After we were done we all met up at Grandy's (a local restaurant) for some food and fellowship. We really enjoyed our Saturday, spending time with friends, and spending the rest of the day shopping and hanging out as a family.

Sunday morning started as a normal, exciting day. Lil'Man, my youngest, was baptized! What great and happy occasion it was. We had our family and friends with us to witness his baptism and he was all smiles! After we got home and the kids were outside playing...



my older son came into the house to let us know that "something" hit Dad's car and broke the back window. At first we thought he may have done this on accident, as this has happened before", but the look on his face was different. The tone of his voice was different. We immediately got up to investigate. It was obvious that the "something" was going very fast and was very small because of the way the glass was shattered. I call 9-1-1 and have the police come out to make a report.

I have to tell you that we have the greatest police in our community! After some time talking and getting the report going, we found out that he is an avid listener to 90.7FM WAY Radio, and he said that it was so nice to meet me...even though the circumstances were less than good. Although we can't "determine" for certain that it was a bullet hole, that is what it seems to be. WOW! A stray bullet? In the neighborhood? WOW! Makes me want to just love and hug my kids forever. I am so thankful for God's protection on my children.

So the week most certainly started off with a "BANG", but I resolved not to let this derail me. I am trusting God and what He has called me to do, and what we are doing as a family. Of course I should expect that things are going to happen to either tempt me or test me. I was mad. VERY mad that this could even happen. Scared? You bet! But I am not going to live in fear. I say again...I will live in FAITH!

That's were we are right now. Living in Faith. On Thursday my daughter will celebrate her 14th birthday with friends in Disney, my boys are going to enjoy some "man" time, and on Saturday we are going to enjoy a cookout with our neighbors and celebrate all the good that God has given. I can't wait to share with you what happens when we go to Disney, and to share with you all the GOOD that God is doing in our lives.

Remember that even in the midst of madness there is mercy.
Even in the midst of pain there is peace.
And in the midst of ciaos there is the cross.
Don't look at the negative, wait for the full picture to develop.

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen

Crunch Time...

is now over!! It has been a whirl wind of activity and deadlines. As you know, tax season is officially over. I am thankful that I finished that up in March.

We are now in full swing on the "man/pirate cave" update. The day before I (yes...me...solo ...with a little help from the kids) painted the room. Now for those of you who know me, know that  I do not like painting. With that being said, I now have a sense of accomplishment!

 Right now the kids are testing for the end of the year. They are all doing well in school and as a mom...I am so proud of my children. T-Man (as of right now) will begin his 6th grade year in accelerated math. The boy is math gifted! I am excited to see where God is leading him. Lil'Man is also doing well with math, and everything for him just clicked this year. As for the Girl, she is back into reading and right now is reading "The Hunger Games". She says I will enjoy it. I may just have to read the book...still out on the movie though...

So the kids and I are now Purple Belts.  It's hard to believe that we are here now. I remember when we were just starting out. Purple to me seemed like a lofty goal, yet here I am. I love taking karate with my children, it has been a great experience.

Mike has been enjoying some excitement too! Just last weekend he was a food judge for the kick for Darien's Blessing of the Fleet annual festival. I am so proud of my husband for following his passion for food and love seeing him light up when he shares his experience with the kids! I hope that he gets a chance to be a food judge again because he really enjoyed it! We have also been blessed with some work for our drafting business. So even in the midst of hectic weeks, things are looking up and we are being very optimistic about the rest of the year.

One of my greatest joys, though, is having dear friends from Okinawa live so close now! I love that every couple of weeks we are able to get together and create new memories while sharing some old ones!

So, like I said, crunch time is over (for now) and I am ready to relax and enjoy some summer fun with my family. We have trips and camps planned and we will most definitely be hitting the beach!

~Peace & Blessings~
Jen